President Trump publicly touted Coca-Cola’s plan to sweeten its drinks with U.S. sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup in July.
Coca-Cola agrees to replace sugar in U.S. drinks, says President Trump
President Donald Trump said Coca-Cola has agreed to start using sugar in U.S. drinks, similar to recipes used in other countries.
Coca-Cola is launching a new cane sugar soda after President Donald Trump publicly urged the company to stop using high fructose corn syrup earlier this year.
The Atlanta-based company confirmed in an email to USA TODAY that it has begun introducing 12-ounce single-use glass bottles of Classic Soda, made with U.S.-grown sugar, in “select U.S. markets.” “This launch reflects our continued commitment to giving people more ways to enjoy the beverage they love,” Coca-Cola said in a statement.
Coca-Cola Chief Financial Officer John Murphy said in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, October 21, that supply chain challenges are limiting the rollout.
“It’s going to be a cautious development,” Murphy told Bloomberg. “The amount of sugar cane available in the United States is limited.”
Chief executive James Quincey announced in late July that the company would bring a cola sweetened with U.S. cane sugar to market in the fall, saying the new drink would “complement” and “expand” the company’s product range. However, the company did not replace high fructose corn syrup as the sweetener in its flagship product. The company already uses cane sugar internationally in some of its carbonated beverages, including Mexican Cola and other non-Cola beverages made in the United States.
Coca-Cola initially did not confirm its intention to use cane sugar
Coca-Cola initially declined to comment on its intended use of cane sugar after Trump claimed it would be used.
“I have spoken with Coca-Cola about using real sugar in U.S. Coke, and they have agreed to do so,” President Trump wrote in a July 16 post on Truth Social. “I want to thank all the authorities at Coca-Cola. This is going to be a very good move by them. You see. It’s going to get better!”
Coca-Cola did not confirm the claims at the time, saying in a statement that it would share details about the new product soon and appreciated President Trump’s enthusiasm for its product.
High fructose corn syrup is one of the ingredients the Trump administration is asking companies to remove from food and drinks as part of its “Make America Healthy Again” initiative.
Is cane sugar healthier than high fructose corn syrup?
Although sweeteners are broken down differently in the body, there is no scientific consensus indicating that cane sugar is overall “healthier” or “better” than high fructose corn syrup, which is widely used in processed foods because it is cheaper to produce and more shelf-stable than regular sugar.
“High fructose corn syrup and cane sugar are both added sugars, and both contain glucose and fructose. Cane sugar is sucrose and contains 50% fructose, while high fructose corn syrup typically contains about 55%,” Dr. Wesley McWhorter, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, previously told USA TODAY.
The FDA says it is “not aware of any evidence” of a safety difference between foods containing high fructose corn syrup and “foods containing equal amounts of other nutritive sweeteners with approximately equal glucose and fructose content, such as sucrose, honey, and other traditional sweeteners.”
Like all types of added sugar, both cane sugar and high fructose corn syrup can have negative health effects when consumed in excess, including weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease.
